Macron's charm offensive leaves Sydney, heads to New Caldedonia

French President Emmanuel Macron has wrapped up his lightning Australian charm offensive with a visit to the Carriageworks cultural centre, where he mingled with some of the most prominent names in the Sydney art world before flying out to New Caledonia at lunchtime on Thursday.

Accompanied by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, Mr Macron was given a VIP ‘‘walkthrough’’ of the current Biennale exhibition, stopping at several large-scale works including that of French artist Laurent Grasso.

French President Emmanuel Macron and Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull at Carriageworks, Sydney, on Thursday. Credit:AAP

However the main focus was on Indigenous artists, with the two leaders watching a performance by the resident Marrugeku dancers on the theme of climate change, before Mr Macron met Aboriginal artists, including Jonathan Jones, Tony Albert and Daniel Boyd.

Mr Turnbull has kept the focus of the visit on strengthening defence, trade and strategic ties, announcing on Thursday that detailed design work for Australia’s 12 new submarines will move from France to Australia in 2022.

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French company Naval Group has won the contract to help deliver the submarines, at a cost of some $50 billion. Mr Turnbull has characterised the deal as a ‘‘huge leap forward in the strategic partnership between France and Australia ... that will last for generations’’.

Mr Macron had a warm reception from around 1000 members of the expatriate French community in Sydney at the Art Gallery of New South Wales on Wednesday evening despite reportedly keeping the crowd waiting for close to two hours.

There was good-natured laughter when he suggested some of the expats might want to return home given the improvements he was now making to the French economy.

Mr Macron pledged earlier in the week to place France and Australia ‘‘at the heart of a new Indo-Pacific axis'' aimed at bolstering regional security, and hedging against China. However just as important for the French leader’s domestic agenda is his visit to New Caledonia, where a referendum on independence from France will take place in November.

Mr Macron has timed the visit to coincide with three important anniversaries of the independence movement in the French territory: the 30th anniversary of the taking of hostages by pro-independence rebels, culminating in the deaths of 19 people; the May 4 anniversary of the 1989 killing of prominent independence leader Jean Marie Tjibaou; and the May 5 anniversary of the signing of the Noumea accord in 1998, which paved the way for this year’s referendum.

While not openly campaigning for either side in the referendum, Mr Macron’s repeated portrayal of France as a Pacific power this week clearly signals what he'd like the outcome to be.

Prime Minsiter Malcolm Turnbull and French President Emmanuel Macron, meet veterans and their families at the commemoration ceremony . Credit:Janie Barrett

Lowy Institute analyst Alexandre Dayant told Fairfax: ‘‘France wants to be a player on the international stage and it's important for it to preserve a presence in the Pacific to justify that."